Brandt's Cormorant
Phalacrocorax
penicillatus
Description
33-35" (84-89 cm). A solidly built
cormorant, thick-necked and large-headed, black with little gloss.
Breeding birds have bright cobalt-blue throat pouch bordered with
yellow, and slender white plumes on face and back. Young birds are
duller, buff colored on breast. Double-crested Cormorant similar,
but flies with more of a crook in its neck and has conspicuous
orange throat pouch. Pelagic is smaller and more slender, with
smaller head; adult has white flank patches.
Voice
Croaks and grunts.
Habitat
Coastal or offshore rocks and waters near
shore.
Nesting
3-6 chalky bluish eggs in a large nest of
seaweed or other debris. Nests in colonies on cliffs and rocky
islands.
Range
Resident along Pacific Coast from
southeastern Alaska south to Baja California.
Discussion
Brandt's Cormorants often gather in
flocks of several hundred and fly to feeding grounds in long
straggling lines. This species and the Pelagic Cormorant frequently
nest on the same cliffs, with Brandt's forming colonies on level
ground at the top of the cliff and the Pelagic choosing inaccessible
ledges. Nest robbing by Western Gulls is such a serious problem that
nests are rarely left unguarded.
